Journal lubricator



May 13, 1969 R. v. PANAIA ET Al. 3,443,849

JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed Feb. 25, 19e? fFZz/efz any May 13, 1969 R. v. PANAIA ET AL 3,443,849

JOURNAL LUBR IGATOR Filed Feb. 23, 1967 sheet 3 26 ZZL United States Patent O 3,443,849 JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Robert V. Panaia, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Robert W. Mac- Donnell, Crete, Ill., assignors to Unity Railway Supply Co., Inc., a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 618,042 Int. Cl. B61f 17/08; F16n 7/12 U.S. Cl. 308-243 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLSURE A journal lubricator having a pair of overlapping fabric panels stitched together to provide a center pocket bordered by side pockets. A separate resilient core is provided in each pocket and the center pocket has double ply fabric covering the top and bottom of its core.

This invention relates to journal lubricators of the type employed in railroad car journal boxes to supply oil from the bottom reservoir provided by the box to the underface of the journal and, more particularly, the invention is concerned with a three pocket style of fabric covered lubricator which provides improved wicking and wiping action, greater wear resistance and more stable seating in symmetrical engagement beneath the journal.

While fabric covered multi-pocket lubricators are now widely used in railroad car journal box applications and have materially aided in reducing the incidence of hot box failures or setouts, there is a continuing need for improvement. Experience with the fabric covered multipocket lubricators has shown the primary drawback to be insufficient supply of oil to the journal at the time of start up. Existing lubricators fail to provide sutiicient oil retention adjacent the journal and/ or rapid feed of oil to the journal.

Journal rotation acts to impart a rolling action to the lubricator tending to unseat or shift the lubricator from its symmetrical installed position to an oifcenter or skewed position where its lubricating action is impaired and its rate of wear is accelerated. In addition, an offcenter or skewed lubricator is more prone to having its end edge caught up or frayed by the action of the journal collar to lead ultimately to a waste grap type of fault.

The present invention provides a journal lubricator comprised of a pair of elongated iiexible wiper sleeves of wicking material disposed in side by side relation and each defining a separate pocket, gathering means interconnecting adjacent upper reverse folds and separately interconnecting adjacent lower reverse folds to define a composite pocket bordered by the upper and lower reverse folds and flanked by the separate pockets and separate resilient cushioning means disposed in each pocket.

In this configuration, the lubricator presents a pair of overlapping sleeve wall portions immediately beneath the journal to store added lubricant at regions immediately adjacent the journal and available on start up of the journal rotation. The pair of wall portions irnpart added cushioning effect and also promote better resistance to wear. Where each sleeve is of a warp knitted fabric having a locked loop pattern presenting an exposed pile surface, the sleeve wall portions bordering the central pocket are `arranged to be pile free to promote rapid feed during start up.

The anking pocket defined within each sleeve receives a pad or core of resiliently compressible material to provide for `oil retention. These padded ilanking pockets then serve as anti-roll stabilizing wings tending to maintain the initial position of the lubricator.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show structure embodying preferred features of the present invention and the principles thereof, and what is now considered to be the best mode in which to apply these principles.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, and in lwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a railroad car journal box `and showing, in elevation, a journal lubricator in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective View showing the free form of the journal lubricator;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. l and showing the configuration assumed by the lubricator when in normal operating position in the journal box;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a fabric panel;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged view taken on the line 4A-4A of FIG. 4 and showing the structure of the knitted lock loop pile fabric;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation showing a preliminary arrangement for securing a pair of fabric panels together;

FIG. 6 is an end elevation showing an intermediate arrangement having side by side sleeves;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged transverse section through a completed lubricator and showing the same in free form; and

FIG. 8 is a transverse section showing another embodiment.

Referring now to the drawings, the illustrated journal lubricator designated generally at 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in its normal operating position within a journal box 11. A journal 12 is rotatable within the box about an axis 12A and a bearing block 13 and bearing shoe 14 are tted within the top of the yjournal .box to ride in supported relation upon the journal.

The journal box 11 has a concave bottom wall 11B serving as a sump for a reservoir of oil having a normal level approximately as indicated at 15. The spacing between the journal 11 and the bottom wall is greatest directly beneath the journal and progressively tapers to each side of center. This spacing is a minimum when all parts are new and it increases as wear on the journal 11 and the bearing shoe 14- leads to elevation of the relative position of the journal axis within the box. For example, the center height may range from 2%; inches when the parts are new to 31/2 inches when the parts are worn.

The journal lubricator 10 is essentially straight edged when in free form as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, but it must assume the generally arcuate shape of the space shown in FIG. 3 between the journal 12 and the journal box wall 11B. Additional requirements for the journal lubricator include providing effective wiping contact for either direction of journal rotation and for the entire permissible range of journal spacing variation. Moreover, the lubricator must seat in stable position and resist shifting for either direction of journal rotation. For example, a skewed position is unacceptable as the coarse outer end edge of the lubricator is then wedged into rubbing engagement with the collar 12C on the outer end of the journal, leading to rapid fraying and ultimately to a type of waste grab which can cause immediate journal burn out. Anti-roll and stabilization against skewing are important characteristics of the lubricator 10.

In the present invention, the lubricator 10 incorporates a novel arrangement wherein a symmetrical pair of elongated flexible Wiper sleeves 20', 2r1 are interconnected in side by side relation to provide a three pocket shape characterized by a raised central section and hingedly connected wing sections. The central section being higher is subject to greater compression than the wing sections which are shiftable by the flexing of the sleeve wall portions to assume a transversely curving contour.

The sleeve 2t)y defines an elongated pocket receiving a resilient core 22 to define one wing section. The sleeve 21 defines a separate elongated pocket receiving a separate resilient core 23 to define the other wing section. Finally, the sleeves 20, 21 have lengthwise extending reverse folds 20U, 20L, 21U and 21L along upper and lower regions positioned in adjacency and interconnected to define a composite pocket bordered at the top by the reverse folds 20U, 21U and bordered at the bottom by the reverse folds 20L, 21L. This central pocket receives a separate resilient cushioning means 24 which is here represented as a resilient core though metal springs of any suitable type are also contemplated for this central pocket.

It may be seen that the sleeve 20 is subdivided into a top wall portion 20T, a center wall portion 20C and a bottom wall portion 20B. The top wall portion 20T and center wall portion 20C merge at the upper reverse fold 20U and provide material of double ply thickness at the sleeve region which is subjected to compression between the journal 11 and the core 24. Similarly, the sleeve 21 is subdivided into a top wall portion 21T, a center wall portion 21C and a bottom wall portion 21B and also provides material of double ply thickness underlying the journal. These double ply thickness relationships also exist at the lower reverse folds 20L, 21L to provide for reversibility of the lubricator.

Each sleeve is of a lubricant permeable material capable of passing oil through the sleeve wall and capable of providing wicking or capillary flow paths along its wall surfaces. For example, a warp knitted fabric having interlocked upstanding loops L presenting a pile surface, as shown in PIG. 4A, may be employed. Each core is of a resiliently compressible oil absorbing and retaining material such as sponge rubber. Thus, the cores serve to absorb and hold oil for direct feed through the sleeve walls to the journal. At the same time, the sleeve fabric is capable of absorbing and holding oil immediately adjacent the journal and its knitted yarns provide wicking of oil from the reservoir along the center wall portions to the journal.

The arrangement of the reverse folds presents a double ply thickness of material immediately beneath the journal to insure storage of suflicient oil at a location immediately adjacent to the journal. The double ply relationship provides a cushioning effect to better resist wear and to better endure the effects of such wear as may occur.

The sleeves have pile surfaces at selected locations, for example, the sleeve 20 has upstanding loops upon the exterior of its top and bottom wall portions to provide soft, nap-like or matted journal wiping faces while its center wall portion is pile free to provide a more efllcient center feed wicking path.

In the manufacture of the journal lubricator, the sleeves are formed by suitably folding and stitching identical sheet panels of the warp knitted fabric. A typical panel, as shown in FIG. 4, may be formed individually or may be cut from a continuous web which has been formed with a predetermined pattern of pile surfaced wall portions, here designated 20T, 20B to relate to sleeve 20, separated by pile free wall portions 20C.

To form the side by side connected sleeves 20, 21, a pair of matched panels of flexible sheet material are disposed in face to face relation and sewn together, as shown in FIG. 5, by lines of stitching 25, 26 located adjacent opposite extremities of the center wall portions 20C, 21C. Each of the panels is then folded about the lines 25, 26 to bring its opposite side edges 20S, 21S into overlapping relation to be sewn together by lines of stitching 27, 2S, as shown in FIG. 6. The sleeves now define three separate pockets, the composite center pocket and the flanking sleeve pockets.

The resilient cores can be inserted prior to forming the lines of stitching 27, 28 though this makes the stitching operation more diflicult or the cores can be inserted after the pockets are formed.

Finally, the flanking pockets are substantially closed at opposite ends by sewing the opposite end edges 20E, 21E of each panel together by lines of stitching 29, 30. In this operation, the end edges of the center Wall portions fold inwardly to provide a framed edging 20F, 21E overlapping the margin of the center core 24 to hold the same in place. A separate pull strap 31 is anchored adjacent opposite ends of the panel 20 to facilitate removal of the lubricator.

In the particular lubricator illustrated herein, the side edges 20S, 21S of the panels are pile free and serged and the end edges are pile free selvage portions each to facilitate the stitching operations previously described.

In a lubricator sized for a 6 inch by ll inch journal, the sleeves 20, 21 are formed from identical panels 18 inches wide and 10 inches long, with the pile free center wall portion being 6%. inches wide. Each of the cores 22, 23 for the wing sections is 8 inches long, 21/2 inches wide and 11/2 inches high. The center core 24 is 8 inches long, 3 inches wide and 31A inches high, giving the lubricator a total free height of 4 inches, slightly higher than the maximum center height of 3% inches.

Another embodiment of the lubricator is illustrated in FIG. 8 where identical reference characters are employed. In this embodiment, the center core 24 consists of a pair of blocks of the same overall size and the bottom panel portions 20B and 21B are free of pile.

What is claimed is:

1. A lubricator for a railroad car journal box adapted for disposition beneath a journal that is operable within the journal box, said lubricator serving to wipe oil upon the journals and comprising a pair of elongated flexible wiper sleeves of oil permeable wicking material disposed in side-by-side hingedly interconnected relation to be symmetrical to the axis of the journal and each to extend in generally parallel relation to said axis, each of said sleeves enveloping a separate resiliently compressible pad of oil absorbent material, said sleeves having adjacent top wall portions interconnected along a lengthwise line and having adjacent lower wall lportions interconnected along a lengthwise line, with corresponding center wall portions extending between said lines being bowed oppositely outwardly and defining a composite central pocket bordered top and bottom by reverse fold portions of said sleeves presenting a double ply thickness of sleeve material between said composite pocket and the journal, and separate resilient cushioning means disposed in said composite central pocket directly to underlie said axis.

2. A journal lubricator in accordance with claim 1 and wherein each of said sleeves is comprised of a folded sheet panel having overlapping outer side edges interconnected, each panel having its center wall portion pile free and having its top wall portion presenting a pile surface for wiping engagement with the journal.

3. A journal lubricator comprising a pair of elongated flexible wiper sleeves of wicking material disposed in side-by-side relation to present confronting side panel portions, each sleeve defining a separate pocket bounded in part by the confronting side panel portion thereof, said confronting side panel portion of each sleeve including an intermediate central wall portion, a top reverse fold leading laterally from said central wall portion and providing overlapping outer and inner top wall portions, and a bottom reverse fold leading laterally from said central wall portion and providing overlapping outer and inner bottom wall portions, each sleeve having the inner top and inner bottom wall portions merging with the intermediate central wall portion thereof and having the outer top and outer bottom wall portions merging with 5 sleeve portion bordering the top and bottom regions of the pocket defined by such sleeve, first gathering means closely interconnecting confronting lateral extremities of said top reverse folds of said sleeves and second gathering means closely interconnecting confronting lateral eX- tremities of said bottom reverse folds of said sleeves to deine a composite central pocket bordered by said intermediate central wall portions and said top and Ibottom inner wall portions and separate resilient cushioning means disposed in each of said pockets.

4. A journal lubricator in accordance with claim 3 and wherein each of said separate pockets receives resilient cushioning means in the form of an oil absorbent core.

5. A journal lubricator in accordance with claim 3 and wherein each of said sleeves is comprised of a folded sheet panel of lubricant permeable material having outer References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,939,752 6/1960 Rockwell 308-243 3,076,685 2/1963 Harkenrider 308-243 3,239,293 3/ 1966 Newman 308-243 CARROLL B. DORITY, J R., Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 308-88 

